New Group Director of Transformation and Digital | News

Ruth Colburn Jackson has been appointed Group Director of Transformation and Digital across Royal Surrey and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts.

This is a newly created role which will play a pivotal part in strengthening collaboration and accelerating transformation across the Group, which was formed in October 2024.

Ruth brings over 20 years of experience to the role, having begun her career on the NHS Graduate Finance Management Scheme. Since then she has built an impressive career spanning finance, corporate services, operational leadership, commissioning, and system development at local, regional, and national levels.

Most recently, Ruth served as Director of System Development at NHS England, where she led major national programmes including the delegation of £20bn of commissioning functions and the safe transfer of 2,000 staff to Integrated Care Boards.

Ruth has a proven track record in leading large scale transformation, digital and data programmes as well as governance for mergers and reconfigurations. Her work has consistently delivered meaningful improvements for patients, staff and system partners.

Speaking about her new role Ruth said: “I’ve been looking forward to starting with the Group and have received a warm welcome from colleagues across both trusts. My focus is always upon improving services and the experience we offer patients, and working in the most efficient way to ensure value for money. I have some brilliant teams to work with and I’m confident that collectively we can make a positive difference.”